I've just completed reading "Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development" by Scott L. Bain; I found the author's writing style to be engaging which made for an easy read. However, from my perspective (someone who has been in the trenches of software development for the past 20 years) I found nothing new in this book for the seasoned professional.



If you are just starting out, I would recommend this book; if you call yourself a programmer, I would recommend this book. However, if you are a trained software professional, and already understand that the phrase "software as an engineering discipline" is an oxymoron, then I would recommend you spend your time elsewhere. This book simply puts into written words what we already know -- waterfall development doesn't work for systems where the requirements aren't well understood or are subject to change during the development effort. The author adequately discusses the importance of patterns and their importance to modern software systems, the importance of paying attention to the details not found in the software, and the fact that you need to get over fear of change. In my opinion, the author does not offer any new insights.



Again, if you are just starting out, or have no exposure to object-oriented theory/practice, patterns and iterative-and-incremental development, this book is a good introductory text. If you are looking for advanced knowledge, in my opinion, its not here.